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A 22x38 McCormick Deering all-steel threshing machine from abut 1930. The piece is in 100 percent original condition, including paint. An unusual piece to find in California, the thresher was hauled there from Iowa, where it had been stored in a barn for several years. "Everything on it still works," Tony says. "You could hook up it up to belts and it would still work. This is one of my favorite pieces. I always wanted one of these ... getting it was a dream come true."
The work is second nature to him now. Specializing in farm and farmstead collectibles, Tony holds weekly auctions in San Diego and Ramona. He also conducts appraisals for museums and individuals, and occasionally loans pieces for use in parades and film work. Recently, he's handled the auctions at the Tulare and Vista antique farm equipment shows.
That kind of exposure to the hobby has convinced him of one thing.
Tony's collection sprawls well beyond that 'two tractors in the garage' scenario. The Vallecito Mountains provide a dramatic A portion of Tony's model collection. He displays about 250 farm tractor toys accented by a variety of collectibles including signs, fobs, and medallions. backdrop for a huge collection of artfully arranged artifacts. Storage buildings are packed to the ceiling. He's interested in literally anything with any connection to farming, but he's drawn to pieces with handles and gearing. "And I like tractors when things are attached to them," he says. "I use a lot of this stuff on the land. I plow and disk ... I like watching gears work; that's the fun of having it. It's just fun to run a tractor."
Sooner or later, he says, "an auction is inevitable here. I probably have enough for a three-day auction. But not yet. I'm having fun right now, too much fun. It's a hobby for me, not just a business. And there's no end in sight."
"This model, with just the single front wheel, was made for just one year only," Tony says of this 1935 Oliver Hart Parr Model 70 NF. "It was converted to propane in about 1941." The tractor originally featured a canvas seat, Tony says: he hung a feed bag on the frame. "My tractors are all California tractors, original and unrestored. Some run, some are derelicts. I like them in original condition; I'm not into restoration. Faded paint, flat tires - as long as they are fairly complete I can detail them out some. I see restored and 'Expo' quality tractors all the time. I just happen to like mine lined up near a fence row or sitting in a field or under the lean-to, pretty much the way they were left all those years ago."